Chapter 94: Seeking the Red-winged Blood Bamboo, Restarting the Spiritual Land

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Seeking the Red-winged Blood Bamboo, Restarting the Spiritual Land

"He had too much fun drinking with my grandfather yesterday, so he didn’t come along."

Dong Yao lifted her teacup, took a sip, and explained.

Li Changsheng nodded and smiled. "When the mood strikes." He paused, then clasped his hands. "I must also thank you, Junior Sister. It’s just that these five poison beasts are truly a bit too valuable..."

She might not bring it up, but he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know.

Li Changsheng took out five hundred Spirit Stones and placed them on the table. "How about this? I’ll compensate you with some Spirit Stones, Junior Sister. I can’t let you take too much of a loss."

But Dong Yao didn’t even glance at the Spirit Stones. She shook her head. "Senior Brother, there’s no need to be so polite. It’s what I should do." After a pause, she stood up and bowed slightly. "I have a favor to ask, and I hope Senior Brother won’t refuse."

’Here it comes!’

Li Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat. He forced a smile. "Go ahead, Junior Sister. As long as it’s something I can help with, I certainly won’t refuse."

The implication was clear: if he couldn’t help, he would be powerless to do anything.

Dong Yao’s gaze shifted. She naturally understood the true meaning behind his words. Sighing inwardly, she said softly, "After I received two Insect Control Techniques from you, Senior Brother, I was sent to be stationed at a spirit ore mine."

"I met Senior Brother Wu there. After a few encounters, I learned that he also practices the Five Poison Refining Spirit Skill, so I asked him for some advice."

Speaking of this, a complex look entered Dong Yao’s eyes. "At first, he was annoyed. But after spending more time together, not only did he not mind my appearance, but he also accompanied me into the mountains to search for insect beasts several times."

"We searched for over half a year, and finally found the five poisons for you, Senior Brother."

She looked at Li Changsheng and smiled. "Speaking of which, I have Senior Brother Wu to thank for capturing these insect beasts. Otherwise, with my meager Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer cultivation base, I wouldn’t have been able to do it."

’Meager Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer!’

Li Changsheng felt his heart clench. Suppressing the urge to retort, he praised, "Senior Brother Wu’s feelings for you, Junior Sister, are as clear as the sun and moon."

Dong Yao faltered for a moment, then shook her head and smiled. "He’s just a fool."

Although that’s what she said, the slight unfurrowing of her brow showed that her words didn’t match her feelings.

Dong Yao continued, "In some of those barren mountains and treacherous waters, we found some insects, but most weren’t in swarms. And the ones that were in swarms were too weak..."

She bowed slightly again. "I still remember the might of your insect swarm, Senior Brother. I ask that you tell me where you found it."

After speaking, she looked at Li Changsheng, a little nervous.

This was the real reason she and Wu Yong had given Li Changsheng such a generous gift. What they truly wanted was the Red-winged Blood Bamboo Insect swarm he relied on. Everything she had said before was just to emphasize the value of the five insect beasts.

Li Changsheng frowned.

’With the Insect Mother, I can have as many Red-winged Blood Bamboo insects as I want. It’s just a matter of time. Giving her some wouldn’t be a problem.’

’But she wants the location of the swarm. That makes things difficult.’

’A mere five insect beasts aren’t worth even a single leg of the Insect Mother.’

A Cup of Tea’s Time passed.

Li Changsheng rubbed his brow, looked at Dong Yao, and sighed. "Junior Sister Dong, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, but I cannot tell you."

With that, he stood up and walked to the second floor.

Soon.

Li Changsheng returned with the five insect beasts and placed them on the table.

Dong Yao looked at Li Changsheng’s calm expression, then at the insect beasts on the table, which were clearly refined and lying there quietly. Her own expression flickered uncertainly.

If she were to take these insect beasts, the relationship she had built with Li Changsheng would completely collapse.

They might not become enemies, but they would be strangers from then on.

She hesitated for only a few breaths.

Dong Yao stood up, bowed, and said, "Senior Brother, please don’t be offended. It was presumptuous of me to ask."

"These insect beasts were for the techniques I exchanged with you, Senior Brother. Please take them."

Li Changsheng watched her for a few breaths, then waved his hand and put the insect beasts away.

He made a gesture to help her up and sighed. "The insect swarm is what I rely on to make my way in the world, so..."

Dong Yao shook her head. "You’ve done nothing wrong, Senior Brother. It was I who was too greedy." With that, she bid him farewell and left.

Li Changsheng saw her to the courtyard gate, his expression calm as he watched the distant small courtyard with smoke curling from its chimney.

After watching for a while, he turned and went back into the wooden house.

He went to the second floor.

Li Changsheng looked at the insects crawling densely over the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand and collected most of them.

.

Dong Yao returned to her own small courtyard.

In the courtyard, Dong Xing and Wu Yong were sitting opposite each other, chatting and laughing.

The bulge on Dong Xing’s forehead had grown even larger. Intricate veins were tangled together on it, looking unusually terrifying.

Wu Yong had taken off his mask, revealing a face that looked like it had been splashed with acid. A piece of his lip was missing, exposing his grim-looking gums.

When they saw her return, both of them looked over.

Dong Xing asked, "Did that kid say where the insect swarm is?"

Wu Yong’s eyes were full of expectation.

Dong Yao shook her head. "He didn’t say."

Hearing this, both of their expressions darkened slightly.

Dong Xing even cursed aloud, "That kid is so tactless! We weren’t asking for his swarm, just its location. And he wouldn’t even say that!"

"How outrageous!"

As he spoke, he started walking toward the gate. "I’m going to get back the five poisons you gave him."

Dong Yao stopped Dong Xing and shook her head. "He tried to give the five poisons back to me, but I didn’t take them."

Dong Xing blinked at her, then said resentfully, "You... Forget it! That kid got off easy." Huffing, he turned and sat back down in his chair.

Wu Yong had been silent the whole time. Seeing Dong Xing return, he poured him a cup of tea and smiled. "Grandfather, don’t be angry. There’s still plenty of time. We can make new plans slowly."

He turned his head to Dong Yao and asked, "I’m heading to the Demon Hunting Corps’s garrison in a bit to ask about the situation. Are you staying home or coming with me?"

Dong Yao shook her head. "I’ll stay home and keep Grandfather company for a few days. You go on ahead."

Wu Yong nodded, stood up, and walked to a large vat in the corner of the yard, looking down into it.

Inside the vat, two Red Foxes with dry fur and shriveled bodies lay at the bottom.

A few breaths later.

The backs of the Red Foxes suddenly pulsed a few times.

The next moment.

SQUELCH...

A jet-black Thousand-legged Poison Centipede, as thick as a baby’s arm and covered in dense legs, burrowed its way out. It crawled up the side of the vat, followed by six more Thousand-legged Poison Centipedes in succession.

Dong Yao stood to the side and asked curiously, "After eating so many poisonous insects and Spirit Beasts, are they about to advance to the high grade?"

Wu Yong collected the insects, shaking his head with a sigh. "First-Order Mid-Grade is the limit for a Thousand-legged Poison Centipede. Breaking through is very difficult..."

Dong Yao’s eyes flickered. She nodded without saying anything.

After that, Wu Yong bid the two of them farewell.

Dong Xing and Dong Yao stood at the gate, watching him walk away.

Just then.

Dong Xing turned his head to look at Dong Yao, his expression darkening. "How could you be with him, and even become his cultivation partner!"

"Do you have any idea what kind of person he is?"

"The way I see it, his mind has long been warped by those insects. How could you..."

Dong Yao’s expression didn’t change. After a moment, she said softly, "With him, I can advance faster..."

Dong Xing was furious. The bulge on his forehead even took on a purple hue. But when he saw the calm look in his granddaughter’s eyes, the words caught in his throat.

Dong Yao stepped forward, took Dong Xing’s arm, and smiled. "Don’t worry, Grandfather. I’ll be fine."

"It’s you I’m worried about, Grandfather..."

Dong Yao’s eyes were pleading. "Can you please stop cultivating it?"

Dong Xing didn’t speak, just patted her head.

The two of them turned and went back into the small courtyard.

In their conversation, they deliberately avoided the topics of Wu Yong and the Spirit Plant inheritance...

「Noon.」

The grandfather and granddaughter were leisurely basking in the sun.

Just then, a clear voice called out.

"Senior Brother Dong, enjoying the sun?"

The two of them stood up and looked.

They saw a handsome, gentle-looking young man sitting atop a massive Spirit Beast, greeting them.

’Why is he here?’

Dong Xing and Dong Yao quickly stood up, opened the gate, and welcomed Li Changsheng in.

Dong Xing chuckled. "Come in, come in! Have some fruit. It’s been a while since you last visited, Junior Brother."

His tone was very familiar, completely lacking the confrontational attitude from before.

Dong Yao smiled to herself, standing by his side without a word.

Li Changsheng glanced at him, particularly at the increasingly swollen, bluish-purple bulge between his eyebrows. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Senior Brother, it would be best if you first stop stimulating your meridians and focus on untangling the adhered ones..."

Dong Xing’s expression shifted. He frowned in thought and said, "Thank you, Junior Brother. I’ll keep that in mind."

Li Changsheng nodded and said no more on the matter. He looked at Dong Yao and asked, "Do you have a Spirit Beast Bag?"

Dong Yao’s expression changed. She quickly waved her hands. "I already said the five poisons were for the exchange with you, Senior Brother. I..."

Li Changsheng cut her off. "It’s not the five poisons!"

"Didn’t you want Red-winged Blood Bamboo? I found some for you..."

’Red-winged Blood Bamboo?’

Dong Yao was confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Senior Brother, are you talking about the insect swarm?"

Li Changsheng nodded and held out his hand.

Looking thrilled, Dong Yao took a Spirit Beast Bag from her robes and handed it over, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Li Changsheng took the Spirit Beast Bag. With a thought, he moved the insects that weren’t yet fully mature into it.

He said to the excited Dong Yao, "Raise them with Blood Food for another half a month, and you can form a contract." He paused, then added, "Red-winged Blood Bamboo insects favor Blood Food. If you cultivate them well, advancing to First-Order Low-Grade won’t be a problem, but reaching Mid-Grade will require some luck..."

"Alright, I’ll let you two talk. I’m heading back now."

With that, he declined Dong Xing’s invitation to stay and returned on Xiaohua.

After seeing Li Changsheng off, Dong Xing returned to the courtyard. Seeing Dong Yao standing there in a daze, he said irritably, "Don’t just stand there like an idiot. Find a sealed room and check on the insects."

."Oh, right, right..."

Dong Yao snapped back to reality and hurried towards her room.

"There’s still some meat left in the kitchen that we bought. Don’t forget to feed them..."

Dong Xing shook his head and smiled. "That child of mine."

He flopped down onto the lounge chair, closed his eyes, and muttered, "That kid..."

Inside the room.

Dong Yao stared at the nearly one hundred insects crawling all over the piece of flesh. Her expression was a complex mixture of excitement and something else.

Over the next few days.

Dong Xing and Dong Yao were frequent visitors at Li Changsheng’s home.

Dong Xing was even more enthusiastic than before, always bringing either fruits he had grown himself or wild tea he had picked. He never had any particular reason for visiting, just to chat.

As for Dong Yao, she brought him another three hundred Spirit Stones. Li Changsheng couldn’t refuse and had to accept them. Afterward, he copied the information from the Insect Breeding Record for her.

A few more days passed, and Dong Yao came to bid him farewell, saying that the Demon Hunting Corps was entering the new Spiritual Land again, and she had to go too.

It wasn’t because the conflict with the Patrol Guard had been settled.

Instead, it was because the conflict between the two factions had intensified. Although there were no deaths, many disciples had their paths to immortality severed.

With the accumulation of hatred, it had already devolved into a power struggle between the two forces.

An Elder had stepped in and issued an order.

The new Spiritual Land was to be divided into two sections, to be cleared jointly by the Demon Hunting Corps and the Patrol Guard.

Although Dong Yao didn’t say it outright, he could guess.

The conflict in the new Spiritual Land was bound to escalate.

Casualties were only a matter of time.